What Documents to Submit for KYC Verification

Online casinos nowadays have a strict account verification process to ensure that no person below the legal gambling age can register for their site. In this article, we will walk you through the process of KYC verification, so you can quickly sign up for the top online casinos in the UK.

What is KYC Verification?

We thought that before we walk you through the process of registering for an online casino and submitting your documents for KYC verification, it would be nice to first explain what KYC verification is.

To begin with, KYC is an abbreviation which stands for know your customer. The process of KYC verification is a process of confirming your identity to someone, usually a government agency or a private business. Businesses generally employ KYC verification to comply with local laws and regulations.

In the case of online casinos, they mainly require KYC verification to stop underage gambling. In the days before online casinos employed these schemes, underage gambling was a problem, though nobody knew its true extent because there was no way to prove what percentage of the player base consisted of minors.

Online casinos also employ KYC verification to comply with anti-money laundering laws. You might have come across online casinos displaying anti-money laundering warnings on their websites because criminals have often tried to pass money gained through illegal means as gambling winnings in their tax forms. Additionally, KYC verification confirms sources of income.

Thanks to KYC verification, authorities can now contact online gambling operators to check how much money a player made gambling if they suspect them of lying about their income, and they can also track their income sources.

Lastly, online gambling sites use KYC verification to curb gambling addiction. Online casinos and sportsbooks can and will restrict access to their products to players whom they suspect to have gambling problems.

In the days before KYC verification, a gambling addict could simply register at another gambling platform but now casino sites share a database, so they bar addicts from gambling and instead direct them to responsible gambling agencies like Gamblers Anonymous which can help them.

Overview of KYC Verification at Online Casinos and Sportsbooks

If you’re new to online gambling and you don’t know how to set up an account and verify your identity, we will walk you through the entire process.

Online Casino & Sportsbook Registration

First and foremost, we advise you to only play at licensed and regulated online casinos and sportsbooks. Look for a gambling licence from the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) or another trustworthy regulator like the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA).

Once you make sure that the online gambling operator is legal and legitimate, it’s time to set up an account. Pick a username and a strong password. We suggest using a unique password which contains a combination of letters (uppercase and lowercase), numbers, and special symbols. Try not to include any personal information in your password such as names, dates, or locations.

The Process of KYC Verification at Online Gambling Sites

The online casino or sportsbook would then prompt you to verify your identity. The KYC verification process might differ based on the operator but it usually includes a few steps which can be seen in most online casinos and sportsbooks. If you’re not sure what identification documents a specific online casino or sportsbook requires, contact customer support via email or live chat to ask them.

Players will usually first be asked to provide their name, address, and date of birth and they have to match the information displayed on the player’s government-issued identification documents.

According to British gambling law, the UK Gambling Commission requires players to submit government-issued documents when they first register for an online casino or sportsbook.

The accepted documents in the UK are a government-issued ID, passport or driver’s licence. In rare cases, the online gambling operator might request additional proof of address such as utility bills and bank statements which include your name and current address of residence.

In order to complete the KYC verification process, you have to either scan or take a picture of your document and submit it to the operator as a PDF or JPEG file. Make sure that the picture is not blurry and that the text is intelligible, because you might be required to send the operator another one.

Some online casinos and sportsbooks, especially in the UK, might also request you add a payment method as another form of KYC verification. Many online operators require the player to use their personal payment account to avoid fraud.

This is why you might have to provide a payment method such as a debit card or a PayPal account belonging to you. The name and address associated with your bank account should typically match the one found in your identification document.

KYC Verification: Waiting Times

Once you submit all the documents required by the online gambling operator, all that is left is waiting. Usually, online casinos and sportsbooks try to verify player’s identity in 24 hours or less, but sometimes the KYC verification process might take days and rarely, weeks.

When the KYC verification process takes longer than expected, the most common issue is document intelligibility which is why we advised you earlier to ensure the picture you submit is of high quality.

Other times, the problem is the lack of match in the provided address. This issue usually affects people who are not citizens or permanent residents of the country where they gamble online, but that’s easily redeemable.

If your permanent address (the one found in your ID documents) doesn’t match the address in your casino or bank account, the operator could simply request additional proof of address such as utility bill or bank statement, as we outlined previously.

In the rare cases when the KYC verification process fails but you believe you did everything right, we advise you to contact customer support.

Conclusion

We hope this article helped you learn everything about KYC verification at online gambling operators and that you can know easily register for the best UK online casinos and sportsbooks.

FAQ

Thank you for reading our article on KYC verification! Don’t forget to check out the most common questions regarding KYC verification at online casinos and sportsbooks: